BIG WEEK-END

This is a huge week-end for rugby in Western Province. The Stormers are back in town; the Vodacom Team will play in the semifinals and the big guns will be clashing in club rugby matches.

UNBEATEN TEAMS CLASH

The big match in Super League A this week-end will be the one between Durbanville/Bellville and the Maties.

Both teams are still unbeaten and they will want to keep this record in tact. Watch out for a huge clash!

The Ikeys and SK Walmers are both known for playing attractive, running rugby and spectators can look forward to a match full of promise.

The Vics will play at home against Belhar and will face a difficult task. Belhar will be full of energy after their victory over Tygerberg.

Villager started the year slowly, but they have improved a lot in their last couple of matches, and False Bay can expect a very hard match against the Brookside team.

The match between Tygerberg and Hamiltons has been moved to 9 June.

MATCHES ON FRIDAY

A couple of matches will take place this Friday:

* Brackenfell will tackle Goodwood, whilst Kraaifontein will play against Elsies River.

Two matches that were scheduled for Friday night will now be played on Saturday, namely NNK vs Primrose and Pniel/Villagers against Helderberg.

AN UNPREDICTABLE GAME

Rugby is a very unpredictable game.

Hamiltons nearly beat the Maties in a recent night game at the Craven Stadium, but last week they suffered a defeat against the Vics.

The result of this match between Vics and Hamiltons might play a big role in the log standings at the end of the season.

NAILS WERE BITTEN SHORT

It is never over until the fat lady sings!

This saying summarise the nail-biting match between Belhar and Tygerberg last week-end.

About 6 000 spectators watched a very entertaining match with the result hanging in the balance until the final whistle.

Belhar will take a lot of positive things out of this match and they will be a dangerous team the next few weeks.

Tygerberg on the other hand is struggling to make the step up from Super League B to Super League A. It will be back to the drawing boards for the coaching staff of Tygerberg.

NNK , COLLEGIANS AND HELDERBERG IMPRESS

In Super League B Helderberg showed their determination to win their place back in Super League A with a solid victory over Hands & Hearts.

The same can be said for NNK. They have laid the foundations for a good 2012 season and beat Pniel/Villagers with confidence last week-end.

The match against Bellville and Primrose were a nail-biting one and Bellville snatched a victory.

Collegians showed again that they will be a tough side to beat in Super League B this year with a hard-fought victory over Brackenfell.

Goodwood has showed a lot of promise as newcomers in Super League B, but they have difficulty in closing out matches. This happened again in their match against Kuils River.

RANGERS TOPS IN TIGHT MATCH

In Premier League A Kraaifontein had a solid win over Hamlets, whilst Rangers beat St Georges in a very tight and closely contested match. UWC were by far the stronger team against Paarl and they might be the team to beat this year in Premier League A.

WP VODACOM TEAM MUST GET OVER THIS HURDLE

The WP Vodacom Team have struggled in the play-off matches the last few years.

In their quarterfinal match last week against the Lions at City Park the Province team were in full flight and scored a very convincing victory over the visitors.

On Saturday the WP Vodacom team will play in the semifinal at Newlands against the Pumas.

The Pumas are a very tough team and it will take a huge effort from the Province boys to win this match.

I call on all the supporters of WP Rugby to come to Newlands early to support the Vodacom Cup Team.

If they can get over this hurdle they will be in the final. And if they win the final they will receive the prize money of R1 million.

And as the song (made famous by the Afrikaans singer Lukas Maree) goes…….”O, ek kan doen met ‘n Miljoen!”

WELCOME BACK STORMERS…Talking about Newlands

Welcome back to the Stormers.

You made us supporters proud with your great results during your recent overseas tour.

All of the best for your match on Saturday against the Cheetahs.

REPORT-SYSTEM WORKS

I am glad to communicate that the decision of the WP Union that the selectors of the WP Disa Team, WP Amateur Team and WP Women’s Team must have a weekly report-back meeting seems to be a good one.

The idea of this report-back meeting is that the selectors will have a clear picture of the standard of specific players when they have to sit down and select the teams. The end-result must be that the best players will eventually be selected for the teams.

FIRST-AID NEWS

Those who did the first-aid course will hear on 17th May if they passed the exams. For those who failed – you have a chance on 26th May to do the exams again.

RUGBY TALKS

The acting president of the WP Union, Mr Thelo Wakefield are in the process of having discussions with club officials about rugby matters.

This week he will meet with the clubs from Super League A and B as well as Premier League A and B.

On Monday he will meet with the clubs from Division 1 and 2, and on Tuesday will he meet with clubs from Division 3 and 4. He will also have discussions with the Paarl Region.

FIXTURES OF WORLD JUNIOR TOURNAMENT

We all can look forward to a very exiting Junior World Cup Tournament to be held in the Western Cape this year.

Herewith the fixtures in the opening rounds

POOL A
04 Jun, 14:45
Wales – Fiji Danie Craven Stadium, Stellenbosch
04 Jun, 16:45
New Zealand – Samoa Danie Craven Stadium, Stellenbosch
08 Jun, 14:45
Fiji – Samoa University of Western Cape Stadium, Cape Town
08 Jun, 16:45
New Zealand – Wales Danie Craven Stadium, Stellenbosch
12 Jun, 16:45
Wales – Samoa University of Western Cape Stadium, Cape Town
12 Jun, 18:45
New Zealand – Fiji University of Western Cape Stadium, Cape Town

POOL B
04 Jun, 16:45
England – Italy University of Western Cape Stadium, Cape Town
04 Jun, 18:45
South Africa – Ireland Danie Craven Stadium, Stellenbosch
08 Jun, 18:45
South Africa – Italy University of Western Cape Stadium, Cape Town
08 Jun, 18:45
England – Ireland Danie Craven Stadium, Stellenbosch
12 Jun, 14:45
Ireland – Italy Danie Craven Stadium, Stellenbosch
12 Jun, 18:45
South Africa – England Danie Craven Stadium, Stellenbosch

POOL C
04 Jun, 14:45
Australia – Scotland University of Western Cape Stadium, Cape Town
04 Jun, 18:45
France – Argentina University of Western Cape Stadium, Cape Town
08 Jun, 14:45
Australia – Argentina Danie Craven Stadium, Stellenbosch
08 Jun, 16:45
France – Scotland University of Western Cape Stadium, Cape Town
12 Jun, 14:45
Argentina – Scotland University of Western Cape Stadium, Cape Town
12 Jun, 16:45
France – Australia Danie Craven Stadium, Stellenbosch

Rugby greetings
Herman Abrahams